Honeybees and beehives are rich sources for fructophilic lactic acid bacteria

Endo, Akihito; Salminen, Seppo

doi:10.1016/j.syapm.2013.06.002

Cited by 172 publications

(149 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Of the 75 FLAB isolates, 52 were identified as Lactobacillus kunkeei (69%) and 23 as Fructobacillus fructosus (31%). This result agrees with several previous findings whereby L. kunkeei has been found to be one of the most predominant LAB in honeybees (6). Anyway, a variety of culture-independent studies showed that the LAB community in the honeybees' GIT is dominated by Lactobacillus Firm-4 and Firm-5.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Lactobacilli have been found to be one of the dominating bacterial groups harbored within the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of Apis mellifera L. (21,22). Within this group, fructophilic lactic acid bacteria (FLAB) have been frequently identified, suggesting coevolution and mutualistic interactions with their hosts (6). Environmental selective pressure forced FLAB to develop specific physiological and biochemical features that allow them to grow and survive under harsh conditions, because of the constant nectar flow, secondary plant metabolites, high osmotic pressure, enzymes that discourage biofilm formation, and presence of microorganisms introduced by foraging.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The observations made as of to date indicate the honeybees' GITs harbor a core microbiota dissimilar to those of other animals, including humans (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24). FLAB are strongly associated with honeybees' GIT compartments, where the enhancement of intestinal barrier function was found to be a consequence of the limited translocation of foreign antigens or pathogens in the gut due to commensal and probiotic bacteria (6,19,(24)(25)(26). Consequently, it is not surprising that FLAB may have a positive role in honeybee health, representing one of the main mechanisms of defense from pathogens in bees.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…ructophilic lactic acid bacteria (FLAB), described only recently (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9), belong to a special group of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that prefer fructose instead of glucose as a carbon source. These bacteria have been isolated from specific ecological fructose-rich niches such as flowers, fruits, and fermented food based-fruits and, only recently, from the gastrointestinal tracts (GITs) of several insects (e.g., bumblebees, honeybees, tropical fruit flies, and Camponotus ants), which have a fructose-based diet (4,10,11).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Metabolism of Fructophilic Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from the Apis mellifera L. Bee Gut: Phenolic Acids as External Electron Acceptors

Filannino

Cagno

Addante

et al. 2016

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Fructophilic lactic acid bacteria (FLAB) are strongly associated with the gastrointestinal tracts (GITs) of Apis mellifera L. worker bees due to the consumption of fructose as a major carbohydrate. Seventy-seven presumptive lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from GITs of healthy A. mellifera L. adults, which were collected from 5 different geographical locations of the Apulia region of Italy. Almost all of the isolates showed fructophilic tendencies: these isolates were identified as Lactobacillus kunkeei (69%) or Fructobacillus fructosus (31%). A high-throughput phenotypic microarray targeting 190 carbon sources was used to determine that 83 compounds were differentially consumed. Phenotyping grouped the strains into two clusters, reflecting growth performance. The utilization of phenolic acids, such as p-coumaric, caffeic, syringic, or gallic acids, as electron acceptors was investigated in fructose-based medium. Almost all FLAB strains showed tolerance to high phenolic acid concentrations. p-Coumaric acid and caffeic acid were consumed by all FLAB strains through reductases or decarboxylases. Syringic and gallic acids were partially metabolized. The data collected suggest that FLAB require external electron acceptors to regenerate NADH. The use of phenolic acids as external electron acceptors by the 4 FLAB showing the highest phenolic acid reductase activity was investigated in glucose-based medium supplemented with p-coumaric acid. Metabolic responses observed through a phenotypic microarray suggested that FLAB may use p-coumaric acid as an external electron acceptor, enhancing glucose dissimilation but less efficiently than other external acceptors such as fructose or pyruvic acid. Fructophilic lactic acid bacteria (FLAB), described only recently (1-9), belong to a special group of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that prefer fructose instead of glucose as a carbon source. These bacteria have been isolated from specific ecological fructose-rich niches such as flowers, fruits, and fermented food based-fruits and, only recently, from the gastrointestinal tracts (GITs) of several insects (e.g., bumblebees, honeybees, tropical fruit flies, and Camponotus ants), which have a fructose-based diet (4, 10, 11). Among these insects, social honeybees are those of greater interest because of their economic and ecological importance for honeybee products (e.g., propolis, royal jelly, honey, and pollen) and especially for crop pollination. Despite a global increase in the population of domesticated bees according to the FAO data (12), honeybees are facing growing adversity. Localized declines in bee populations have occurred in many European countries (13-15). To understand and to prevent the decrease, several studies have been addressed to investigate the symbiotic and pathogenic microbial interactions (16-19). The observations made as of to date indicate the honeybees' GITs harbor a core microbiota dissimilar to those of other animals, including humans (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24). FLAB are strongly as...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 97%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Metabolism of Fructophilic Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from the Apis mellifera L. Bee Gut: Phenolic Acids as External Electron Acceptors

Filannino

Cagno

Addante

et al. 2016

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…Beyond the enzymes, they incorporate some symbiont microorganisms associated with gastrointestinal tract that can bring benefit to human health [27]. The natural human microbiota is stable; so it is necessary for daily intake of the new symbiont to be able to populate the human body and maintain its benefits [28].…”

Section: Beneficial Microorganisms In Honey For Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microorganisms in Honey

Silva¹,

Rabadzhiev²,

Eller³

et al. 2017

Honey Analysis

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Honey is a product with low water activity because of the great amount of sugars (fructose and glucose), and also it has antimicrobial compounds derived from flowers or because of its transformation process in the beehive. Despite all the honey microorganism barriers, some species of microorganisms are able to survive and may cause damage to honeybees or consumers. Techniques of pathogenic microorganism identification by DNA using PCR are recommended and required for sanitary and customs control. It is important to know the diversity of contaminating microorganisms in honey, especially due to disseminate pathogenic microorganisms in the international traded marketing. In contrast, beneficial microorganisms such as yeasts can remain latently in this product waiting for the moment in which the environment is suitable for their development. Among the beneficial bacteria found in honeybee products, we can mention some lactic acid bacteria that act as prebiotics when ingested. The microorganisms in the digestive tract of honeybees are important for their health. Thus, we present the knowledge of microbiota associated with honey from honeybees and stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae) and the techniques available for the detection of microorganisms in honey.

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Influence of social lifestyles on host–microbe symbioses in the bees

Mee,

Barribeau

2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Microbiomes are increasingly recognised as critical for the health of an organism. In eusocial insect societies, frequent social interactions allow for high‐fidelity transmission of microbes across generations, leading to closer host–microbe coevolution. The microbial communities of bees with other social lifestyles are less studied, and few comparisons have been made between taxa that vary in social structure. To address this gap, we leveraged a cloud‐computing resource and publicly available transcriptomic data to conduct a survey of microbial diversity in bee samples from a variety of social lifestyles and taxa. We consistently recover the core microbes of well‐studied corbiculate bees, supporting this method's ability to accurately characterise microbial communities. We find that the bacterial communities of bees are influenced by host location, phylogeny and social lifestyle, although no clear effect was found for fungal or viral microbial communities. Bee genera with more complex societies tend to harbour more diverse microbes, with Wolbachia detected more commonly in solitary tribes. We present a description of the microbiota of Euglossine bees and find that they do not share the “corbiculate core” microbiome. Notably, we find that bacteria with known anti‐pathogenic properties are present across social bee genera, suggesting that symbioses that enhance host immunity are important with higher sociality. Our approach provides an inexpensive means of exploring microbiomes of a given taxa and identifying avenues for further research. These findings contribute to our understanding of the relationships between bees and their associated microbial communities, highlighting the importance of considering microbiome dynamics in investigations of bee health.

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Honeybees and beehives are rich sources for fructophilic lactic acid bacteria

Cited by 172 publications

References 25 publications

Metabolism of Fructophilic Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from the Apis mellifera L. Bee Gut: Phenolic Acids as External Electron Acceptors

Metabolism of Fructophilic Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from the Apis mellifera L. Bee Gut: Phenolic Acids as External Electron Acceptors

Microorganisms in Honey

Influence of social lifestyles on host–microbe symbioses in the bees

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